US senator defiant about fraud charges, and footwear's biggest trend (literally)
| | | | | | Today, your BBC News Briefing goes twice-daily for the first time. As well as our usual round-up of the latest headlines, this new edition offers you extra insight on the day's biggest issues - reporting from the scene of major stories and getting to the heart of the news by answering the key questions. We hope you like the improvements - let me know what you think.
In this edition, Bernd Debusmann Jr and Steven McIntosh explain what happens now that a tentative deal between Hollywood studios and the writers’ union has been reached. Nataliya Zotova is at the Armenian border, hearing from refugees who’ve left their homes following Azerbaijan’s seizure of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, and Wycliffe Muia reports on why a former Zambian president’s daily jog has been seen as a preparation for a political run. |
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| | | | | | Questions Answered | | A Hollywood breakthrough | | | | Talk shows are expected to be among the first to return. Credit: Reuters |
| | From President Joe Biden to actor Mark Ruffalo, there has been broad support for the tentative deal between Hollywood studios and the Writers Guild of America. The breakthrough is the first step towards ending the 146-day strike, but union members and leaders still need to agree to a three-year contract before they return to work. Catch up with the day’s events here. | | Bernd Debusmann Jr & Steven McIntosh |
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| | Which shows would come back first? | | While writers would be able to get back to shows such as Stranger Things, The Handmaid's Tale, Severance and Abbott Elementary, those wouldn’t resume shooting due to the ongoing actors’ strike. The first TV shows audiences will probably see back on the air are those which do not involve actors, such as daytime and late-night talk shows. Some might return as early as October. | | What concessions did the writers win? | | It has been reported that the Writers Guild was able to obtain concessions on many of their primary demands, including an increase in royalties from streaming content. Additionally, the studios made concessions on minimum staffing levels for shows. The Writers Guild was also reportedly able to secure a guarantee that AI will not impact writers' credits and compensation for their work. | | Will the actors' strike end too? | | For now, no talks are scheduled between the SAG-AFTRA union and the studios, which have balked at some of the actors' demands, such as setting aside 2% of streaming revenue to be shared by a show's cast. | | | |
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| AT THE SCENE | Goris, Armenia | | Thousands of Nagorno-Karabakh refugees flee to Armenia | | | | Armenia has yet to say how it could cope with the influx. Credit: Reuters | | For those ethnic Armenians seeking to flee their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh now that Azerbaijan has seized the disputed region, the mountainous town of Goris in Armenia is one of the first ports of call after crossing the border. As many as 6,500 of the 120,000 people who live in the enclave have already made the journey into Armenia. | | | The main square of Goris is crowded. The theatre nearby is turned into a base for the Red Cross. Tatiana Oganesyan, head of a foundation of doctors and volunteers that's now helping refugees in Goris, told the BBC that people who come to them are exhausted, malnourished and psychologically crushed. She says: "People are shocked, they are telling us: ‘I need pills, they are blue.’" Doctors then need to figure out their medication and find it for them.
"We have nothing," says an elderly woman who just arrived in Goris. She points at her jumper, saying it's all she could bring with her from home. Her son is on crutches. A woman, Veronica, told the BBC that this was the second time she had become a refugee. The first time was during the conflict in 2020. "I gave my whole life to my homeland," said one man. "It would be better if they killed me than this." |
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| | The big picture | | The robot and the beehive | | | | The firm's main product is called "Robee". Credit: BloomX |
| | Our food supply relies, at least in part, on pollinators like bees. As their numbers dwindle, an Israeli tech firm is offering farmers machinery that mechanically pollinates crops in a similar way to bees. | | | | |
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| | | | For your downtime | | Big shoes to fill | | Comically oversized footwear is all the rage at Paris fashion week. | | |
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| | | | And finally... in Zambia | | Former President Edgar Lungu has enjoyed the company of members of the public and supporters of his Patriotic Front party on his Saturday jogs. But according to the police, his public fitness activity is starting to look like “political activism”, amid speculation he’s going to make a fresh bid for the presidency. They want him to apply for formal approval before running - but that’s an order the former leader has little intention of following. |
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– Sofia |
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